Some of us may give our used tea bags a second life by squeezing an extra steep out of them, but Ruby Silvious takes things a step further by using the thin paper as a canvas for miniature paintings. Silvious mirrors the simple ritual of tea drinking in quiet paintings that show slices of everyday life, like laundry drying and cats looking out the window.

The artist began her initial year-long series of paintings in January 2015. Since then, Silvious has compiled that year into a book, and traveled to Japan and southern France for month-long sessions of tea drinking and painting. Her work is included in a group show “Deemed a Canvas” at Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia, which opens on January 26th. You can see more of Silvious’ work on her website and Instagram.